The Urban Developer
AdvertiseEventsWebinars
Urbanity
Awards
Sign In
Membership
Latest
Menu
Location
Sector
Category
Content
Type
Newsletters
Untitled design (8)
FULL PROGRAM RELEASED FOR URBANITY-25 CONNECTING PROPERTY LEADERS ACROSS THE ASIA PACIFIC
FULL PROGRAM RELEASED FOR URBANITY-25 WHERE THE PROPERTY INDUSTRY CONNECTS
VIEW FULL AGENDADETAILS
TheUrbanDeveloper
Follow
About
About Us
Membership
Awards
Events
Webinars
Listings
Resources
Terms & Conditions
Commenting Policy
Privacy Policy
Republishing Guidelines
Editorial Charter
Complaints Handling Policy
Contact
General Enquiries
Advertise
Contribution Enquiry
Project Submission
Membership Enquiry
Newsletter
Stay up to date and with the latest news, projects, deals and features.
Subscribe
ADVERTISEMENT
SHARE
print
Print
OtherRenee McKeownFri 06 Oct 23

Jeddah Tower: No Work Under Way on World’s Tallest Tower

Nearmap image of the world's tallest tower called Jeddah Tower where construction is a third of the way through.

There is not a scrap of evidence to suggest construction has kicked off again on the world’s tallest tower in Saudi Arabia.

Jeddah Tower was to stretch 1km into the sky, however construction stalled in 2018 about a third of the way up.

Media outlets have this month reported a “source close to the project” said Jeddah Tower was “back in full motion”, however companies among those allegedly involved knew nothing of this.

Both companies “invited to bid” on the project as well as people on the ground said they were yet to receive any official information.

Swedish construction and development company Skanska was one of the companies listed in the original MEED Middle East Business Intelligence news report. 

When The Urban Developer contacted Skanska, a spokesperson said no contact had been made by the Jeddah Tower team.

“We will not bid on this project as we don’t have any operations in that part of the world any more,” Skanska head of media relations and public affairs Jacob Birkeland said.

“No [information was provided], hence we won’t bid and don’t operate in the market.”

First started in 2013, the skyscraper would have been taller than Dubai’s 830m Burj Khalifa.

It was planned to be the heart of Jeddah Economic City and was originally named Kingdom Tower. 

In March 2020, The Urban Developer spoke with Thornton Tomasetti principal Robert Sinn who was part of the engineering company that provided structural design services for the building.

They were hopeful construction would begin in 2020 but there was no revised completion date and construction on the surrounding masterplan was ongoing.

A week later the Covid pandemic hit and in the years following, the construction site for the world’s tallest tower remained untouched. 

three images of Jeddah Tower in 2023 showing a part built tower, the view from the top and inside the crane operator's cab.
▲ New images of Jeddah Tower by @jay.charvet on Instagram.

Urban explorer Jay Charvet recently visited the site. He said the site was abandoned—even finding dust in the cab of one of the cranes.

“There is absolutely no one, no workers or construction equipment active,” Charvet told The Urban Developer.

“I was there in June and, like you, I saw reports on the internet that the work had resumed. This is not the case.”

Several companies listed in the original Jeddah Tower report were contacted for this article. 

This included the Jeddah Economic Company (JEC) and Kingdom Holding Co, however they had not responded by the time of publication. 

a render of the city surrounding Jeddah Tower, the futuristic image shows the world's tallest tower surrounded by an economic city.
▲ A render of the Jeddah Tower and Jeddah Economic City.

Meanwhile, the JEC website has not been updated since 2015 while its social media accounts set up since 2020 have been deleted.

Kingdom Holdings on the other hand, while silent on the Jeddah Tower project, has announced a $107-million investment in the renovation of the Four Seasons Hotel in Riyadh in February.

Four Seasons was the major hotelier listed to operate a property in Jeddah Tower.

ResidentialRetailHotelInternationalPlanningConstructionConstructionSector
AUTHOR
Renee McKeown
More articles by this author
ADVERTISEMENT
TOP STORIES
Nation's build-to-rent project Charlie Parker in Sydney's Parramatta where more projects are being located and built outside the CBD.
Exclusive

Foreign Capital Still Dominates BtR but Things are Changing

Marisa Wikramanayake
7 Min
Exclusive

Fortis Reveals Plans for Coveted Bowen Terrace Site

Taryn Paris
4 Min
Exclusive

Accor Deputy Delivers Verdict on Brisbane Games Hotel Shortfall

Phil Bartsch
6 Min
Qld Budget 2025-26 Brisbane City
Exclusive

Billions Promised, Now Deliver: Industry’s Qld Budget Verdict

Vanessa Croll
6 Min
Medium Density housing in NSW
Exclusive

NSW Budget ‘Groundbreaking’ $1bn Guarantee to Unlock Housing

Leon Della Bosca
7 Min
View All >
Lincoln Place Eagle Point Bowls Club and Clubhouse
Land Lease Communities

Lincoln Place Plots 209-Home Scheme on Gippsland Purchase

Leon Della Bosca
Residential

National Home Prices End Year on Record High

Lindsay Saunders
Markets

Australia’s Top 20 REITs Revealed

Shravanth Reddy
The nation’s REITS have shown resilience in challenging market conditions, but some key sectors are outperforming the re…
LATEST
Lincoln Place Eagle Point Bowls Club and Clubhouse
Land Lease Communities

Lincoln Place Plots 209-Home Scheme on Gippsland Purchase

Leon Della Bosca
3 Min
Residential

National Home Prices End Year on Record High

Lindsay Saunders
3 Min
Markets

Australia’s Top 20 REITs Revealed

Shravanth Reddy
6 Min
Lindfield SSD Resi EDM
Residential

North Shore $154m Apartment Play Tests Zoning Limits

Vanessa Croll
2 Min
View All >
ADVERTISEMENT
Article originally posted at: https://theurbandeveloper.com/articles/jeddah-tower-construction-update-world-tallest-tower